


CWC - Series of Greys

by samurai_hearts



Series: Clone Wars Chronicles [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Anakin's life decisions, Based on 3x15 'Overlords', Gen, Kind of a happy AU, Mortis Arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2016-09-23
Packaged: 2018-08-16 21:58:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8119000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samurai_hearts/pseuds/samurai_hearts
Summary: How would the galaxy look if Anakin had accepted the Father's offer to stay on Mortis? And how would Palpatine react to the news that Anakin was gone?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Finally a new chapter! This one is another request for @MaryLeboneFirst and is based on 3x15, Overlords. It's a short AU which deals with what might have happened if Anakin had stayed on Mortis. In an effort to make it different from the last chapter, and what will be the next chapter (no spoilers here!) I wrote it completely from Palpatine/Sidious' POV which was interesting. I hope y'all enjoy, and R&R  
> (Originally chapter fifteen of Clone Wars Chronicles, 23/06/2016)

Supreme Chancellor Palpatine sat idly at his large desk in the Senate building. It wasn’t like he had nothing to do-quite the opposite these days-but he was worried.

He was worried about Anakin Skywalker.

Just hours ago, the spindly Force bond he shared with the Jedi Knight, built slowly over a number of years of manipulation and suggestion, had seemingly disappeared. It was still there, and he could sense its presence, but he could no longer _do_ anything with it.

Of course, this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Despite his orders to both Dooku and General Grievous, the boy just kept getting captured, and his apprentice had developed quite the taste for Force suppressants.

This was still different though. During those times, the bond had been clouded and blocked, but now there was nothing.

He felt unsettled. He was not used to being unable to keep an eye on his prodigy, even if Anakin was unaware. The bond had proved useful in many ways, and he used it to sense Anakin’s emotions, and to help him use very subtle Force suggestions on the boy. Thanks to his patience, it was almost getting easier to manipulate Anakin, until the Clone War started. Palpatine had never thought about how the war might affect his control over Anakin, and with him being away on the fronts more and more his influence was starting to slide. That apprentice of his didn’t help either, and Palpatine had plans to get rid of her, hopefully in a way that would pit Anakin _against_ the Jedi.

He smiled. They were all caught in the strings of his web, and none of them had any idea they were trapped.

Resigning himself to the fact that twiddling his thumbs was not going to get him anywhere, he pulled over his datapad and viewed the section that told him exactly where all the Jedi Generals were at any time. A most useful device indeed.

Surprised, he saw that there was no current location for Anakin. He frowned, and checked for the location of either his padawan or his former master.

Nothing.

That either meant they were dead, or the Jedi Council were using them on a secret mission.

Now he had to work harder.

In order to find out where Anakin was, he was going to have to find the mission details. Mission details that would only be accessible at the Jedi Temple.

Looks like the Jedi were about to have an unexpected visitor.

* * *

 

Palpatine waited until the dead of night to sneak out of his apartment. His guards were laughably easy to slip past, and soon he was stood outside one of the secret entrances to the Jedi Temple.

His link with Anakin really _was_ most useful.

Sneaking through the unguarded tunnels took him mere moments. Once inside the vicinity of the Temple, he made sure his dark hood was in place and took his time to sink into the shadows. It was a tricky job, having to use the Dark to mask himself, whilst also using his limited grasp of the Light to cloak his signature. It was easy enough to do, but here in the midst of the Jedi it required a little more finesse to truly hide himself.

Sidious made his way quickly to the Temple Archives, sticking to the shadows even though the hallways were deserted. The only Jedi around at this time of night were the Temple Guards, and they hardly ever patrolled the corridors.

Once at the Archives, he sat at one of the more hidden terminals and used Anakin’s code to log in-the boy really _did_ have his uses.

He scrolled quickly through the list of ongoing missions. There. It seemed as though the Council had sent Anakin, Master Kenobi, and Padawan Tano to investigate a distress signal that was using a frequency that only the Jedi of a thousand years ago had used.

Very interesting.

A soft ping sounded, and he saw that the status had been updated. The Jedi shuttle had met with the Republic Cruiser, _the Dauntless._ As Sidious scanned over the small chunk of text, he became decidedly more concerned.

Only Master Kenobi and Padawan Tano had been on board the _Twilight_ when she had docked with the cruiser.

There was no mention of Anakin’s whereabouts.

* * *

 

Palpatine paced his office for the umpteenth time. _The Dauntless_ was due back any moment now, and he had specifically requested that Anakin come and see him as soon as possible.

Of course, Palpatine knew that Anakin would not be coming, but he hoped that Master Kenobi would take it upon himself to answer and explain to Palpatine just where in the galaxy Anakin was.

As he looked out of the window, he spotted a small red speeder pull up on his personal landing pad, and out climbed Kenobi. Perfect.

He could sense the Jedi’s Force presence as he drew closer to his office. After the Battle of Naboo, he had toyed with the idea of turning Kenobi, but once he purged the Darkness from his attack on Maul, he had been firmly rooted in the Light. To turn him would take a great deal more time, planning and effort. Far easier to go after an unbalanced young boy and win his trust quickly. Palpatine couldn’t believe that the Chosen One was so different to the rest of the Jedi- when he had first heard of the prophecy he had expected someone more like Kenobi, someone who would never consider crossing that line between Light and Dark.

Yes, Anakin was the perfect target. His natural rage and desire to prove himself meant he had quickly fallen to Palpatine’s manipulations and was turning out to be his greatest success.

If only he knew where he was.

There was a small chime, and then the door to his office slid open. Palpatine turned round, and pretended to be surprised.

“Master Jedi! This is an unexpected surprise. What can I do for you?”

“Greetings, Chancellor Palpatine.” Kenobi bowed, a sign of respect. Palpatine could barely hide his smirk every time one of the Jedi did this-if only they knew just how ironic it was. “You sent summons for Anakin, and I am answering them.”

Palpatine rearranged his features into a mask of gentle confusion. “And it is wonderful to see you Master Kenobi, but I must ask where Anakin is. Is he injured?”

“Ah.” A small sigh escaped from Kenobi. “That is slightly more complicated. May I?” He gestured to the seats in front of the large desk, but Palpatine decided that the couches lining one wall would be more appropriate for this conversation-he wanted the Jedi to feel comfortable, and at ease.

They settled into the plush couch, and it did not escape Palpatine’s notice that Kenobi seemed tense and worried. Could this be about Anakin as well?

“Chancellor, I regret to inform that Anakin is not returning to Coruscant-at least not for the foreseeable future.”

“I see.” He paused. “Why is this? Has he been stationed somewhere on a more permanent basis?”

“You could say that,” Kenobi agreed. “It is also impossible to communicate with him. I’m afraid he is by himself.”

“Surely that is dangerous?” Palpatine processed the information quickly. Alone, far away, somewhere in the galaxy was his future apprentice, and unless he could find him quickly there was no telling how much damage could be done.

“I assure you, Anakin is in no danger from the war. It is more of a…meditative retreat.” Kenobi was hiding something, something big. Palpatine immediately made it his mission to find out what.

“Tell me, Master Kenobi, what did you learn?”

“I’m sorry?”

“This mission you have just returned from-what information did it yield?”

There was a long pause. Then, “we learnt many things about the ways of the Force, Chancellor. I’m not sure you would understand.”

“I am also eager to hear about the ways of the Force, my dear boy.” He saw Kenobi flinch at the use of the term ‘boy’. Clearly he was still harbouring some anger over what had been a rough apprenticeship. From what he had heard from Dooku, it was most likely the Jedi still struggled with elements of his past. He filed the knowledge away, wondering if it would come in use at another time.

“There is not much to tell. We were simply provided insight into the difference between the Light and the Dark, as well as some more clarification on the prophecy.”

Good. Now they _were_ getting somewhere.

Palpatine was about to question him further when Kenobi’s commlink beeped. Evidently embarrassed by the interruption, Kenobi stammered an apology and checked the message. With a resigned sigh, he turned back to Palpatine.

“I’m very sorry Chancellor, but I’m afraid I must get back to the Temple. They are expecting me.”

“Of course, of course. You have other duties, I understand. But please, before you go, would you answer me just one more question?”

“Whatever you ask, Chancellor.”

“Tell me, Master Kenobi, what was the name of the planet you have just returned from.” He laced the question with as much suggestive power as he dared use, knowing that Kenobi would pick up on it much more quickly than Anakin. The Jedi shifted in his seat for a moment, clearly uncomfortable with the question, before replying.

“Mortis. It was called Mortis.”

* * *

 

_Five years later_

Sidious let out a gleeful cackle. He had done it. After so many failures, the path was finally open to him.

Since Anakin’s disappearance, Sidious had spent a lot of his time and money investigating the planet Mortis. He had discovered, through observation and reading the report Kenobi submitted to the Council, that it cloaked itself using the Force, and only Force wielders could enter.

However, Sidious had found that it wasn’t as simple as that. The planet would only appear when it wanted to, as if it was a living being. This had made Sidious’ task far harder.

He had a small space station nearby that monitored the coordinates of Mortis. Sidious himself came by every few months to watch and wait for it to appear.

As he had waited, the Clone Wars had raged on. Every planet in the galaxy had been affected in some way. The Republic had started recruiting soldiers from the general population after clones started to take too long to manufacture. This also lead to an increase in droids being used, and many new astro-mech and battle droid factories were set up. The banks were nearly at their breaking point, and most of the civilians were too.

Then, the peace negotiations finally started. After the death of Count Dooku, a most _unfortunate_ event at the hands of no other than Master Kenobi and the newly-knighted Tano, the Separatists decided that enough was enough and started their offers of peace. The negotiations were nearing their final stages, and Sidious knew that time was running out for him. If he didn’t act soon, he would no longer have enough power to take over.

Everything was in place. Next week, he was going to leak the position of General Grievous to the Jedi Council, who, at his recommendation, would send Kenobi and Tano after him. That, along with the several other Council members who were now serving on the fronts due to the alarming decrease in the amount of Jedi, would leave the Temple weak and prime for the taking.

Yes, everything was falling into place quite nicely.

Everything except for his apprentice. Whilst Sidious had never given up on Anakin, he had realised that a back-up was not a bad idea. He had found several Jedi who would be ideal targets, but many of them were still Padawans or young Knights. If he was to cement his rule, he needed someone stronger.

That was why, in a last effort, he had tasked Dooku with trying to turn either Kenobi or Tano. Both were strong and had a wealth of power just waiting at their fingertips, ready to be used. Both had suffered misgivings at the hands of the Jedi; Kenobi and his tragedy-ridden apprenticeship, and Tano’s friend’s betrayal after the Temple bombing. If manipulated right, Sidious had been sure that one of them would fall.

He had been mistaken.

Dooku had managed to capture both master and apprentice, but their grip on the Light was too strong. It had been Dooku’s last failure, as whilst duelling the two Jedi he was slain by Tano.

Just like Kenobi before her, the Council knighted her for her actions.

None of that mattered anymore. The door to Mortis had finally appeared before him, a massive diamond-shaped structure that glowed bright in the void of space. Sidious could feel the strong pull of the Force, and without stopping to think, he gladly accepted its embrace.

* * *

 

When Sidious opened his eyes again, he was still inside his shuttle, but somehow he had landed on an open stretch of green grass. A cliff face towered behind him, and bright foliage dotted the plains.

He left the ship, and frowned. It was quiet. Too quiet. In a place like this, he would have expected to hear birds chirping, animals scarpering through the bushes. Nothing.

A shift in the Force. He turned, slowly, and saw a figure stood not ten paces away with his back to Sidious. He was looking out over the rolling hills, towards a tall building that stood precariously on top of the highest hill.

Sidious studied the figure. He seemed familiar, but at the same time unknown. He wore a dark brown cloak, the hood hiding his face.

The figure turned, slowly lowering the hood, and Sidious found himself staring into the eyes of none other than Anakin Skywalker.

As if in a trance, Sidious walked forward until he stood not one pace in front of Anakin. He studied the boy’s face, although ‘boy’ was too weak a term to use now. He looked older, stronger. The jagged scar over his right eye was faded and barely noticeable – and his hair was longer, pulled back in a style not too dissimilar to that of Qui-Gon Jinn’s.

“Darth Sidious,” Anakin spoke, his voice a touch deeper than Sidious remembered. “How nice of you to join us.”

“Anakin. How nice of you to show yourself.” Two could play at this game.

Anakin laughed. “I was never hiding, my old _friend._ You simply were not ready to find me.”

“So you admit, you _were_ hiding.”

“The Force works in mysterious ways. I’d have thought you would have figured that out by now. Come, let us walk.” He strode away, and Sidious scrambled to follow.

“You did not seem surprised when I arrived. How long have you known the truth about who I truly am?”

“Almost as long as I have been here.” Anakin eyes clouded slightly. Was that, _sorrow?_ “I confess, I have no contact with the outside world, nor do I know how long has passed since I left.”

“Much has happened, my dear boy.” Sidious saw his chance.” I now rule the galaxy, after the Jedi’s betrayal of the Republic. They turned on us, so we turned on them. The Jedi are extinct, and the Empire is a far safer place.”

A humoured smirk danced across Anakin’s lips. “You cannot stop, my friend. All your lies and manipulations are clear to me, and you are still trying to turn me against my friends.”

“That is not true!” Sidious cried, “I am merely trying to show you the truth!”

“Tell me, what do you feel?”

“I’m sorry?” Sidious was taken aback by the sudden change in conversation.

“What do you feel, Darth Sidious? What does the Force tell you?”

Sidious glared at Anakin for a moment, before letting the Force flood over him. He gasped.

“I…balance. The Force is in balanced.” It was so perfect, precisely equal. With just a quiver of his fingers, he could alter it ever so slightly. The world was no longer a split of black or white, but a series of greys, pure and terrifying.

“I see the truth, and only the truth,” Anakin replied.

If Anakin had done this, then the prophecy was true. He had failed.

“What have you done?” He yelled, turning to face Anakin, lightsabers in hand. “You’ve ruined everything!”

Anakin did not react, just stood, watching. Sidious hissed.

“You will pay for this!” With a snarl, he sprung forward, expecting his saber to be blocked by another.

It never came.

Anakin simply stepped out of the way of each of his attacks, and Sidious grew more and more frustrated.

“Coward! Are you not brave enough to stand and face me?”

“On the contrary, Sidious. It is you, who is the coward.” Anakin pulled one of Sidious’ sabers towards him, and Sidious inexplicitly let go.

“What?”

“All those years, all those lies and half-truths. You caught everyone in your sticky web, and see where that got you. All alone. You are the last Sith, Sidious, and you will never see the galaxy again.” Fire raged in Anakin’s eyes, and Sidious realised he was outmatched.

“No!” He cried. “It is you who shall die!” He raised his remaining saber, intent on destroying Anakin there and then. Anakin stepped back, and the Darkness fled from his eyes.

“No-one dies today.” He waved his hand, and suddenly the green hills were gone.

It was dark and cold. Sidious turned a slow circle, inspecting their new surroundings. Just how Anakin had transported them, he had no idea. He guessed they were inside the building he had seen, and once he faced Anakin he made a fairly accurate guess where.

The dungeons.

Thick metal bars separated him from his prey, and when Sidious tried to reach through them he was zapped by an invisible energy. He could not see or sense any kind of containment shield, which could only mean one thing.

Anakin was using the Force to trap him.

Enraged, Sidious lunged at Anakin, but the Force shield knocked him back once more. Growling, he paced the length of the cell.

“You rule is at an end, Sidious, before it could even start.” Anakin smirked, and Sidious could see hints of the person he used to be filtering through the stoic façade. “You shall spend the rest of your days here, but fear not, you are not alone.” Another flick of his fingers, and two beings appeared. One female, encased in the brightness of the Light-the other male, and swamped in the deepness of the Dark.

“This is the Sister, and the Brother. They will ensure that you are, _comfortable.”_ Anakin smirked once more, before turning and leaving Sidious. “Now if you excuse me, I have a galaxy to return to.”

“You will pay for this Skywalker!” He roared, “I will show you no mercy!”

There was no reply. Sidious screamed in frustration, and lashed out at the items inside the cell-namely a sleep mat and wash basin. He destroyed them in seconds, and continued to strike out at the remains.

He was beat; his Empire no more. All thanks to a boy who he had hand-picked and reared himself.

 _I will have my revenge_ , Sidious vowed, _I will come for you Skywalker._

He never did.


End file.
